Is it too obscure to show up on Hollywood's radar? - The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers (1986) Discussion

[–] Iron_Leopard 9 years ago

I'd say a bit of both. They could never make a movie that would do the show justice. But at the same time a movie would bring a huge amount of exposure and introduce new fans to the series.

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[–] DarthBill 9 years ago

I'd say a bit of both. They could never make a movie that would do the show justice. But at the same time a movie would bring a huge amount of exposure and introduce new fans to the series.

One thing I'd at least a hope a potential live action film adaptation could do is offer some resolution on the Zachary/Eliza Foxx subplot that the show itself never resolved (and hardly ever even touched on).

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[–] col_rutherford 9 years ago

The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers is a property I feel could have been a lot more popular had it been exposed to a larger audience. Instead of a live action adaptation, I wish that Netflix or some other company would pick up the rights to the original cartoon series and commission new episodes animated in the same style by TMS. The original series still holds up quite well and doesn't need to be remade. It could be introduced to a new generation. Fans of the original would love to see a continuation of plot lines that were left unresolved at the end of Season 1. Unfortunately, some of the people who worked on the original series are no longer available, such as the late Jerry Orbach and Earl Hammond, and would have to be replaced if new episodes were made.

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[–] DarthBill 9 years ago

The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers is a property I feel could have been a lot more popular had it been exposed to a larger audience. Instead of a live action adaptation, I wish that Netflix or some other company would pick up the rights to the original cartoon series and commission new episodes animated in the same style by TMS. The original series still holds up quite well and doesn't need to be remade. It could be introduced to a new generation. Fans of the original would love to see a continuation of plot lines that were left unresolved at the end of Season 1. Unfortunately, some of the people who worked on the original series are no longer available, such as the late Jerry Orbach and Earl Hammond, and would have to be replaced if new episodes were made.

As cool as it would be to see some closure to the actual series, I fear the odds of it happening are very slim - just as the chance of either an animated reboot or live action adaptation are very slim.

It's hard to pinpoint exactly what prevented Galaxy Rangers from finding that "larger audience". Perhaps it's the easy way out to say that it was too dark for a kids' show in the 80s, but I do think that may have been the case, as the overall series feels closer to something from the early to mid 90s rather than the mid-80s, so perhaps it was simply a case of bad timing. Of course "The Real Ghostbusters" was also fairly dark during its first two seasons but then again that series had the advantage of being an adaptation of one of the biggest hit films of the decade. "Robotech" was also pretty dark, but that didn't stop it from being popular, so who knows what other factors were at play that worked against Galaxy Rangers.

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[–] col_rutherford 9 years ago

It's hard to pinpoint exactly what prevented Galaxy Rangers from finding that "larger audience".

I think there are a few reasons why the series wasn't seen by more people:

-It was a blend of the science fiction and western genres, and while sci-fi was very popular in the 1980s, westerns had mostly fallen out of fashion during the decade.

-Many of the competing animated series in first run syndication at the time were based on well-publicized toy lines. As an original property without a toy tie-in in the North American market (toys were released in Europe), The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers was a tougher sell to TV stations and viewers.

-The TV syndication market was saturated with animated series at the time, limiting access to good time slots. People had access to far fewer TV channels at the time. I remember Galaxy Rangers airing around 6:00 in the morning in my region. Most kids were probably still asleep at that time.

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[–] DarthBill 9 years ago

You make good points Col. Rutherford, and I feel like an idiot for not thinking of them sooner. I believe the show did have toys though -

http://www.toymania.com/customcorner/cc22/galaxy/rangersgroup.jpg

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/z/zuMAAMXQVERS3U85/$_32.JPG

http://www.toymania.com/customcorner/cc22/galaxy/rangersgroup2.jpg

http://www.toplessrobot.com/GalaxyRangers01.jpg

If the toys were not well advertised well that's on the marketing people.

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[–] col_rutherford 9 years ago

I mentioned in an earlier post that Galaxy Rangers toys were released in Europe, but they weren't released in North America. The animated series was created before the toys were, and presumably plans to release the toys in North America were cancelled because the TV show wasn't as popular as hoped.

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[–] DarthBill 9 years ago

Ah my bad.

Still, made late or not, that's incredibly weird not making an effort to release the toys in America ASAP given how merchandise driven cartoons had become.

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[–] col_rutherford 8 years ago

There are plans to make live action movies based on Dino-Riders and Visionaries, and they're pretty obscure. It seems that almost every movie, TV series, or toy line from the 1980s and 90s is being considered for a revival these days.

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[–] DarthBill 8 years ago

Wasn't it reported at one point that the show's creators were trying to green light a live action TV remake of the series?

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